


The Diner

by joss80



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Episode: s01e23 Firewall, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 06:12:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joss80/pseuds/joss80
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Firewall, a scene inspired by the looks they gave each other across their desks at the end of the episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Diner

The diner was bustling with lunch time patrons. Lionel Fusco, one of NYPD’s finest, was wedged into a corner booth, his view out the window obstructed by a neon sign that kept flashing the word “Open” to those outside.

He smirked to himself as he stirred his coffee absentmindedly. _Playing for the same team the whole time..._

The bell on the diner’s door jingled as it opened, and Carter pushed inside, shrugging off her coat as she scanned the long, narrow space for him. He raised his hand to wave and she spotted him at the same time. He smiled and dropped his arm, and she grinned back at him as she approached and slipped into the opposite seat.

“How you doing?” she asked, dropping eye contact as she folded her coat it onto the seat beside her.

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, Carter, but you’re the first woman who’s busted in on me while I was sitting on the john, so I’m not sure yet.”

He grinned at her, then, and hoped she could tell by the twinkle in his eyes that he was egging her on.

“Don’t you take this the wrong way, Fusco, but you have no idea how glad I was that you actually had your pants on.” She scowled at him across the table, but couldn’t hold it for long and let out a chuckle.

“Are we really having this conversation?” he asked jokingly, raising his eyes towards the ceiling.

“Yeah, you’re right, we’ve been up way too long... let’s order some food.” She picked up the single-page menu in front of her and scanned it for a few seconds. “A-ha!” she said, pointing to an item on the back side. “All day breakfast. Perfect! I never did get mine this morning.” She stretched her arms out, then covered her mouth with a hand and yawned as the waitress approached and took their order.

“My kid would love this,” Fusco confided with Carter after ordering the same as her.

“Yeah, mine too,” Carter smiled softly, looking down at the table. She seemed a million miles away.

“You okay?” he asked, touching his fingers to her hand quickly before pulling them away. Carter wasn’t exactly the staring-off-into-space kind of girl.

She seemed to regroup after a minute, and gazed back at him with a pensive look.

“I just... it’s, it’s just all a bit overwhelming, you know?” she reflected. “The fact that you’ve been working with them all along too. And that neither of us knew about each other.” A pause. Then, “And I can’t tell you how _relieved_ I am that we’re on the same team.” She shook her head and pursed her lips, deep in thought.

“You and me both,” Fusco replied quietly, his usual extroverted demeanor replaced by a more introspective side of him. “I’m so sorry. I was sworn to secrecy... well, you know how it is with Batman and the professor.”

The waitress arrived with a cup of coffee for Carter then, followed quickly by their meals. Carter warmed her hands around the cup while Fusco dug into his meal, apparently famished. After a few bites he looked up at Carter to find her looking right back at him.

Fusco blushed. He could feel it creeping up the back of his neck and was helpless to stop it. It had already taken all his nerves to invite her out for a quick lunch, and it occurred to him that they’d never had this personal of a discussion before. It also occurred to him that he knew almost nothing about the woman sitting opposite him, his brave and – yes – attractive partner in crime-fighting.

The new sense of camaraderie was weird. _Really weird_. And it was messing with his game.

“You eat out much?” he asked, trying to make conversation and distract from his discomfort. “Any favourite places?”

She picked up her fork and speared some scrambled eggs. “There’s a really great Italian place near my apartment. Taylor and I go there sometimes when I’m off late from work.”

“I hear you on that one. With my commute it’s hard getting home in time to make a decent dinner.” He chewed another mouthful thoughtfully.

“But you transferred… ohhhhh!” Her eyes went wide as she put the pieces together. “Finch got you transferred to Homicide, didn’t he?”

“Nope. It was our guy in a suit. He knows how to work the blackmail, that one.”

“Aaah.” She bit into a piece of toast and pondered that for a while.

“It’s been one hell of a ride though,” he offered. “I really admire the work you do. Sorry I had to go about things so weirdly this last while.”

“You’re doing a lot of apologizing, Fusco,” she said, grinning at him. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. I’ll take it up with John and Finch next time we hear from them. And for what it’s worth, I really enjoy working with you too.”

He held her gaze and she didn’t back down, something new and _different_ passing between them all of a sudden. It persisted until the waitress set the check down between them a minute later, and the spell was broken. Both reached for the slip of paper at the same time, Fusco’s warm hand meeting Carter’s and lingering just a bit longer than necessary.

“Please… I’ve got it.” He gave her his trademark half smile as he pulled his hand away, bringing the piece of paper with it.

“You want to do this again sometime?” she asked, not quite meeting his eyes while attempting to nonchalantly drizzle honey over her last piece of toast.

He raised his eyebrows and drew in a deep breath. He could feel his heart tapping out a staccato rhythm in his chest at her suggestion, one that he hadn’t know how to voice.  
“Yes,” came his reply - too quickly, but he didn’t really care. Then, finding his words again, “Only, next time let’s not be awake for 30 hours beforehand.”

“Sounds good.” She smiled shyly at him as she stood up and grabbed her coat from the bench seat.

They walked side-by-side to the door, fingers brushing lightly against each other in the tight confines of the narrow diner. Fusco moved ahead to open the door, and the bell jingled again softly as Carter moved past him and out into the sunlight.

_Back to the real world_ he thought wryly, but suddenly she was leaning over to kiss him on the cheek and the staccato rhythm started back up in his chest.

“Thanks for lunch,” she whispered before pulling away. Then, “I have to head back to finish up some paperwork. See you tomorrow?”

It wasn’t so much a question as a statement, but something more was implied and he knew it. For the first time in a long while, Lionel Fusco couldn’t wait to get back to work.

 

 

 


End file.
